Catacombs are early
Christian underground burial places...
"The subterranean
cemeteries in which the Christians of Rome buried their dead during the first
three centuries. They were designed like the burial-places of the Jews, and at
first in association with the family vaults of patrician converts, so that, as
burial-places, they enjoyed by Roman law immunity from disturbance. The presence
of the bodies of the martyrs as well as their safeness caused them also to be
used for the celebration of the divine mysteries. The bodies of the principal
martyrs were translated to churches in the city during the 8th and 9th
centuries. Over twenty-five of these cemeteries have been rediscovered, of which
the principal are those of St. Callistus and of St. Sebastian, close to the
Appian Way; of St. Agnes on the Via Nomentana; of St. Priscilla on the Salarian
Way; and of SS. Nereus, Achilleus and Domitilla on the Via Ardeatina. The name
is said to be derived from the church built over the cemetery of St. Sebastian,
called ad catacumbas (probably from Gr., at the hollow), which was resorted to
as the second burial-place of St. Peter. By the concordat of 1929 the
disposition and maintenance of the Catacombs was reserved to the Holy See. There
are other catacombs at Syracuse and in Malta." (Catholic Dictionary)
Reminder: We make no guarantee whatsoever regarding any item herein. Items herein may be the opinions of their authors and do not necessarily reflect our views.
All applicable items may be subject to change at any time without notice. Utilize any link(s) appearing on this page at your own risk.
For more terms information, see "Important Notice" below.
** Page may contain third party advertisement(s)
in any location.
We are not responsible for content. Not an endorsement.
Important Notice:
We make no guarantee whatsoever regarding any
item herein. Items herein may be the opinions of their authors
and do not necessarily reflect our views. Items herein may not be comprehensive,
may not be current, may be subject to change at any time without notice, may not
apply to all persons, may be subjective / debatable / erroneous, etc.
Interpretation and application of items herein should not be contrary to the
perennial, official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Do not take items out
of context. Do not inflict harm on yourself or others, break laws, take
unsuitable/incautious or inappropriate/drastic actions, or take figurative items
literally. Inclusion of any item herein does not imply endorsement. Clicking on a third
party link leaves our site. We are not responsible for any third party site /
product / service / content / etc. Third parties may not be Catholic.
All use of this site is at your own risk and is subject to our terms of use. By using this site you indicate agreement to all terms.
For terms information,
click here.
MyCatholicSource.com ™, MyCatholicSource.org ™,
CatholicCommunityCenter.com ™,
CatholicCommunityCenter.org ™,
BFSMedia ™,
BFSApps ™,
and other indicated & related items are trademarks of B.F.S.
MyCatholicSource.com, BFSApps, and BFSMedia are divisions of B.F.S.